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Pex tubing oder

03-18-2011, 01:04 PM

I'm a home inspector with 3,000+ home inspections under the belt. Inspected a 5 year old house today which has been vacant for ~ 1 year. Over 90% of the supply plumbing was Pex or equivalent. The water from every tap in the house smelled like rotten eggs. Is there a sulpher component in the tubing which would cause that smell? Would it diminish by just running the water? I didn't know what to tell the home buyers and they're needless to say, concerned. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

I'm a home inspector with 3,000+ home inspections under the belt. Inspected a 5 year old house today which has been vacant for ~ 1 year. Over 90% of the supply plumbing was Pex or equivalent. The water from every tap in the house smelled like rotten eggs. Is there a sulpher component in the tubing which would cause that smell? Would it diminish by just running the water? I didn't know what to tell the home buyers and they're needless to say, concerned. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Public water or priviate well? Hot and cold both smell? Google water heater and rotten egg smell together. Get the bleach out......you need some chlorine.

On a side note I had a call from a realtor yesterday that had a flooded house. the home inspector came to inspect the home prior to sale.....he turned the water meter on t the curb out front and proceeded to check the home over.....meanwhile the drain valve to the water heater was left on.......IN THE ATTIC

Then he attempted to tell the realtor the water heater was leaking due to a bad tank.....he spilled the beans after i called him asking WTF happened because the water heater has been holding pressure for an hr and not leaking for me. Another case closed by the plumbing detective

Since he didn't lie to me I only charged them a 100 buck service charge. He could have saved that by telling the truth initially.

Comment

I'm a home inspector with 3,000+ home inspections under the belt. Inspected a 5 year old house today which has been vacant for ~ 1 year. Over 90% of the supply plumbing was Pex or equivalent. The water from every tap in the house smelled like rotten eggs. Is there a sulpher component in the tubing which would cause that smell? Would it diminish by just running the water? I didn't know what to tell the home buyers and they're needless to say, concerned. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Anode failed on water heater.

Time flies like an arrow.

Fruit flies like a banana.

Comment

I have had to deal with this same problem. It was bacteria in the lines and hwt. The cold side was ok. Flush the lines as stated, then turn of the main supply, drain the hwt. You will need to shock treat the tank and lines with bleach. I used a few gallons poured into the empty hwt, then filled with h2o again and run out to all outlets till bleach gets to taps and turn off. This should treat all the hot pex lines with a strong concentration of bleach. Leave it for a day or 2, then run it all out again thru the taps. You should be good at that point. That was what worked for me anyway. Oh and make sure you leave the power off to the hwt during the treatment.
And as stated not a bad idea to check the anode and replace if necessary.

Comment

I was always told to max out the temp on the water heater for a couple of days. (assuming the house is vacant) And that will cook out the bacteria in the water heater. Just remember to turn out back down before someone can get scalded.